by Judy Handley | Sep 23, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 266: Eclectic Monday
Date: Monday, September 23, 2019
Weather: Sunny; High 74, Low 63 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
A relaxing Sunday turned into an eclectic Monday . . . pilates class at the gym, food shopping, exploring a beautiful new beach and marsh area with Karen and Peter Baranowski, taking Jonah and Ollie to Scouts, putting the Goldpebbles to bed, and then coming home to watch Episode 6 of Ken Burns’ Country Music. Tonight, he had me in tears. The focus was on the years from 1968 to 1972 and it included, among many other things, the music and history of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and their recording of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” with old time Nashville artists—a phenomenal story. When I met Mark in 1973, the album that was the result of that combined effort of traditional country musicians with a folk/rock group was one of Marks’ favorites. And who ever knew that Kris Kristofferson was a Rhodes Scholar who became a West Point instructor who left to become a janitor at Columbia Records in Nashville and then went on to become the famous song writer and artist that he had always dreamed of being. Burns’ documentary is more than a history of country music. It is a history of the United States in the 1900’s told through music. What a treasure.
by Judy Handley | Sep 22, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 265: Relaxing Sunday
Date: Sunday, September 22, 2019
Weather: Sunny; High 74, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Plans for today changed a couple of times. Heather left for New York City to attend a climate conference and I went over to see if I could help out with the kids so Jed could get some time to work a couple of grants that are due. Sam went boating with his friend Sebastian and Jonah and Ollie were interested in coming to my house to go kayaking. But then the Keefe’s next door invited both boys to go boating with them. All of a sudden, both Jed and I had kid-free afternoons. I went on an explore to find a beach the Baranowski’s had told me about at the end of a dirt road. But when I got there, it was so crowded with parked cars that I had to back out in order to find a place to turn around. I skipped that beach for today but hope to go there with Karen and Peter tomorrow when it is less crowded. I decided to just come home and spend time in the sun down on the dock reading my book. It was a lovely day for that, and if the forecast is correct, it looks like we have more of this beautiful weather for the next week. Tonight, I went to the new Downton Abbey movie with Jane Woodin. We both loved it, but then we both were Downton fans to begin with. I then came home and had a long conversation with Justin who is still visiting in New Mexico. He called just to talk and it was delightful to hear about their visit. They head back to Puerto Rico on Tuesday with wonderful memories of friends in New Mexico.
by Judy Handley | Sep 21, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 264: Soccer Day x Three
Date: Saturday, September 21, 2019
Weather: Sunny and Hot; High 80, Low 60 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Tomorrow is the last full day of Summer 2019 and I am hoping to go to the beach to celebrate. It is not supposed to be as warm as today, but if it is sunny and in the 70’s, I’ll be happy. I spent today on various soccer fields and the glorious weather was enjoyed by all.
Jonah’s home game was at 11:45, Ollie’s game was at 1:30 on the field in Falmouth Heights, and Sam’s game was away at 3:00. Thankfully it was not far away, so I was able to attend all three. At the end of the day, Jed and Jonah headed to the Outer Cape to hear a concert by the Yale Whiffenpoofs, “the world’s oldest and most renowned collegiate a cappella group.” Sam and Ollie weren’t interested in going, so Heather, Sam and friend Sebastian, Ollie, and I headed to the BBC (British Beer Company) for dinner. Heather eats very little meat, but she was anxious to try The Impossible Burger that is now on the BBC menu. It looks, tastes, and smells like ground beef, but is made entirely of plants. I ordered one as well, and it did indeed taste like a burger!
by Judy Handley | Sep 20, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 263: Wine Explorers at the Cottage
Date: Friday, September 20, 2019
Weather: Sunny; High 74, Low 57 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Tonight I hosted my Newcomers Wine Explorers group here at the cottage. Thankfully it is only ten people and tonight there were just nine of us. That works in the cottage’s small space. As host of the evening, I set the type of wine we would explore, and tonight it was wine from Chile. Each couple brings a hearty appetizer to go with the wine they bring. As one person said tonight, this is more a cultural group then a wine group as we share the details of the wine we bring and bring food appropriate to the country and the type of wine. For instance, tonight I brought a wine from the Curicó valley in central Chile. But other wines were from other locations. So, we start to learn a little about the geography as well as the food choices. I made empanadas, a meat filled pastry, and Chilean corn humitas which is corn pudding wrapped in corn husks. I also provided dessert which was Chilean fruit tart with a quinoa crust. I always thought quinoa came from a South American grass, but actually it is a relative to spinach and amaranth. It originated in the northwestern Andean region of South America. I was a little apprehensive about serving this as I was afraid no one would kike the quinoa crust, but actually it went over quite well. Great evening with a whole new set of friends.
by Judy Handley | Sep 19, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 262: Back to Beautiful Weather
Date: Thursday, September 19, 2019
Weather: Sunny; High 71, Low 45 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
It was sunny and warmer today, but the nighttime temp will be in the upper 40’s again tonight. Then we’ll be back to 70’s during the day and 60’s or upper 50’s at night. Much better. I did a lot of experimental cooking today, visited with Karen Baranowski, got my hair trimmed (2 inches off twice a year keeps my hair in control), went to the gym and did 30 minutes on a bike, went to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned, and visited with Jane and Bruce Woodin. I’ll be spending tomorrow getting ready to host my Newcomers Wine Explorers group and then enjoying the evening with them. Busy, busy.
by Judy Handley | Sep 18, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 261: Chilly
Date: Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Weather: Overcast; High 61, Low 48 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The heat came on during the night just to keep the inside temperature at 66 degrees. The outside temperature was in the upper 40’s. Just a rude reminder that the fall equinox is coming soon—Monday early, early morning. I’ll still hope for an Indian Summer in October, but we shall see. I spent my day doing a little research on wines from Chile and food pairings for those wines as I am hosting my Wine Explorers group here at the cottage on Friday evening. We focus on wines from a different region at each gathering and the host gets to name the region. Off the cuff, I said we would focus on Chilean wines having no idea that it is almost impossible to find good wines from Chile around here. I went to Hyannis today to search, but I didn’t find what I was looking for. While there, I went to Whole Foods to get ingredients for the appetizer that I will fix to go with my wine, and spent some time this evening in food prep. But as I have for the past three nights, I spent the last two hours watching another installment of Ken Burns’ Country Music documentary. Loving the stories being told in the series.
